When the Earl of Salt Hendon marries squire’s daughter Jane Despard, Society is aghast. But Jane and Salt share a secret past of heartache and mistrust. They are forced into a marriage neither wants; the Earl to honor a dying man’s wish; Jane to save her stepbrother from financial ruin. Beautiful inside and out, the patient and ever optimistic Jane believes love conquers all; the Earl will take … take some convincing. Enter Diana St. John, who has been living in a fool’s paradise believing she would be the next Countess of Salt Hendon. She will go to extreme lengths, even murder, to hold Salt’s attention. Can the newlyweds overcome past prejudices and sinister opposition to fall in love all over again?
Awards for this Book
- 2011 Australian Romance Readers Awards Finalist
Book Details
Series: Book 1 in the Salt Hendon series
Classification: Parental Guidance Recommended (mild sensuality)
Length: Full-length novel (117,000 words, about 460 standard pages)
Edition: Revised, re-edited, and re-covered in 2014
Style: Classic romance with a modern voice, similar to Regency noir
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I loved this book. It was a well written tender story of love deferred and restored.
I actually skipped a day of work (self-employed) to finish this book. I love Brant’s dialogue and humor. The story was full of suspense. This is her fourth book I have read in about 2 months. I’ll be reading more.
Nice to read a book with such interesting characters. The bad are awful and the good ones delightful.
I loved both this story and Lucinda Brant’s writing voice! The hero and heroine get a second chance at love after the dastardly interference of a very juicy villain. Well done!
And p.s., I love this mid-Georgian era world, and the subtle and not-so-subtle differences from the more “modern” Regency times!
These books are reminiscent of Georgette Heyer’s witty romances. Lively characters witty dialogue and some romance.
Great read.. Lucinda always delivers
I found this book enthralling! I couldn’t put it down and finished reading it in a couple of days. The twists are unexpected and put into great detail. The characters nand story line are well written. Historical Romance at it’s best!
Lucinda Brandt is one of the best historical romance writers and this book is exceptional and I loved it. Her description of the era, the clothing and the thinking at that time are clear and concise.
Really a great story. I really enjoyed it. But I found the author used way too much description and distracted from the story.
I read so many books and finish the good ones quickly so that I have to be reminded what the book was about by reading the synopses — after reading this synopsis, I realized that I had read it before but couldn’t help but to re-read it. I enjoyed it the 2nd time just as much as the first and went on to read the other stories in the series. I think I have one left to read.
The Earl marrying a lowly Squire’s daughter, Jane—how precious. Then, add the rejected Diana St. John to the mix and the battle begins. I loved the romance and the unpredictable antics of Diana in this eighteenth century historical fiction while cheering for the two who should rightfully be together.
Enjoyed the read, not the same old, same old.
I liked it so much I got the next book in series and read it, Salt Redux
I loved it! The two main characters actually love each other but can’t or won’t admit it, even to themselves. I enjoyed this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Stories taking place during this period in England is hard to come by. The book is true to the period and contains romance, betrayal, laughter, true love and evil characters.
Great rainy day read!
This was a lovely, well-written book. I cried off and on throughout. Very emotional and sympathetic characters. A great villain too! Must read the second book in this series to see how it turns out, however.
Great writing. can’t wait to read the next one.
I have read several of Lucinda Brandt’s books & this book just didn’t come close to being Spectacular like her Book “Midnight Marriage”. I was so excited to read it that I was truly disappointed in the end. It’s not that it wasn’t good, it just didn’t hit the mark. The Story centers on the villainess more than anything. The ending was truly disappointing.
This book had such a great plot and interesting characters – really enjoyed all the twists and turns!